May 25, 1871. 



JOUENAL OP HOKTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



365 



in which Cacnmbers or Melons have been grown before begin- 

 ning with young plants. — WiLLii^i 'Whittakee, Crewe Hall, 

 Cheshire. 



A FLOBIST'S GARDEN. 



S. M. TANDY, ESQ.'S, DUBLIN. 

 I SEE in my rambles many a garden. I see some whose 

 noble owners know no more of their contents than is implied 

 in eeaing the plants that decorate their dinner table, or the 

 fruits that form their dessert. I see others into which if you 

 go daring nine months of the year you will see nothing but 

 bare beds and frames fall of small pots, but which in Jane 

 burst forth into a blaze of scarlet and yellow, suggestive of a 

 Hindoo's bandana. I see others through which the owner care- 

 lessly saunters, but knows nothing of the flowers that tend to 

 make them beautifal ; and others, again, where each floweris a 

 favourite which no rude hands must spoil, and only the dainty 

 fingers of the fair owner must tend. Bat after all (but this 

 may be simply the raving of a bigoted old florist), I know of 

 no garden which gives its owner such constant enjoyment as 

 that of the florist. The man must be a florist who owns it ; 

 he cannot delegate to any gardener however skilfal the care of 

 those pets which he tends, and, indeed, few gardeners know 

 much about them, and among some of the best specimens of 

 florists' gardens is the one of which I now write. 



Let it not be supposed that I am writing about any grand place, 

 with magnificent grounds or elaborate ranges of glass — no ! 

 Mr. Tandy's is simply the garden attached to a semi-detached 

 villa in one of the pleasant outlets of DabUn, and yet he has 

 made No. 4, Appiau Way, well known in the Dablin horticul- 

 tural world, and has established for himself a name as one of 

 the first florists in Ireland. This may seem to be a large word, 

 but I will adduce proof that I speak advisedly. His garden is 

 not, certainly, altogether a quarter of an acre, and yet he has 

 managed in this to cultivate flowers with which he has beaten 

 in fair and open fight the largest nurserymen in Dnblin and 

 gentlemen whose means are unlimited, and who could put his 

 whole garden into their Grape houses alone. This garden is 

 never empty. In spring it is gay with Hyacinths, Talips, 

 Anemones, and Ranunculus, while in summer it bursts forth 

 in flaunting yellows and dazzling scarlets, as in duty bound in 

 these days of bedding-out, so that it never fails to have interest 

 in it both for the initiated and the multitude. 



The Hyacinth is a flower which is here enltivated with a zeal 

 and success I have not seen amongst amateurs in Eagland. At 

 our metropolitan shows the distance between the growers and 

 amateurs is always very great, but in Dablin the amateur beats 

 the nurseryman, and the flowers staged by Mr. Tandy would 

 not disgrace Mr. Cntbush's, Mr. W. Paul's, or Messrs. Veitch's 

 stands. This is attained by an amount of perseverance that does 

 great credit to himself and his experienced gardener. Last year 

 a Hyacinth Show was originated at Dublin, and in this Mr. 

 Tandy carried all before him ; but this year it was not at- 

 tempted, and Hyacinths were shown at the exhibition on April 

 20th. It was no little difiieulty to keep them back till that 

 time, but so carefully were they managed that the Society's cup 

 again fell to Mr. Tandy, be beating, as I have said, both nursery- 

 men and amateurs whose means and appliances were tenfold 

 greater than his. One thing which especially marked the good 

 cultivation displayed was the erect stilif character of the foliage, 

 and this when it must have been necessary to so much retard 

 the flowers and shade them. The varieties grown included all 

 those which are prizetakers at the London shows. The pots 

 used in Dablin diSer very much from those used here, being 

 very deep and narrow. I am not sure that they do not better 

 suit the Hyacinth, the roots of which travel deep in search of 

 nourishment rather than wide. 



I have already alluded to Mr. Tandy's collection of Aaricnlas 

 as having gained for him the first prizes at the Dablin Show. 

 It is one of which the owner may well be proud, comprising as 

 it does numerous plants of the very best varieties in growth. 

 The Dublin florists have long been famous for their Auriculas. 

 My memory travels back to times when Dr. Plant was facile 

 princeps, but fine as bis collection was, it could not be compared 

 with this ; for although many of the old flowers still hold their 

 place, although I have never since seen, or ever hope again to 

 see, such Booth's Freedom or Heys's Apollo as I used to see 

 with bim, yet were there no grey-edged flowers in those days 

 to compete with George Lightbody or Eichard Headly, while 

 bere there were numerous plants of these and other varieties 

 of well-known character — Chapman's Maria and Sophia, Cheet- 



bam's Lincashire Hero, Read's Miss Giddings, Leigh's Colonel 

 Taylor, &a. There was one fault connected with his style of 

 growing which he will be able to remedy before another season 

 — the leaves and footstalks were somewhat drawn. This arose 

 from the necessity of shading from the sun, and from the want 

 of a house to bloom the plants in. He intends erecting one, 

 and will, I have no doubt, experience the comfort and benefit 

 of such a structure — the comfort, because you have all your 

 flowers under your eye at the same time; and the benefit, 

 because you can shade by either whitening the glass or putting 

 tii^any over it. I saw with him and my brother some fiowers 

 I bad not previously seen — Pohlman'a Garibaldi, Lightbody's 

 Sophia Damaresque, Cunningham's John Waterton, &o., about 

 which I may have to say more by-and-by. 



The Gladiolus is another of Mr. Tandy's favourites, and this 

 he cultivates under special difficulties. It is well known that 

 it requires a change of soil, probably more than other flowers 

 that are grown ; indeed it ought not to be grown in the same 

 place more than once in three years. Now in so small a garden 

 as his, this is simply impossible. It is remedied, however, by 

 taking out the earth from the beds and refilling them with 

 fresh soil each year ; and so effectual has this been, that the 

 first prize for thirty-six blooms was taken last year by Mr. 

 Tandy from his three small beds, beating growers who had 

 much larger collections and more ample space than he bad. 

 He can do something, too, with Asters, while his Chrysanthe- 

 mums comprise most of the best varieties in growth. 



I have said enough to show that in a small space of ground 

 a great deal of enjoyment may be had by a thorough florist, 

 and that it need not be a chaos of disorder as some would 

 assert, and I could only wish that we had more such gardens 

 around London. I sigh over the times that are past, and hope 

 for some brightness in the f atnre. I should add that while 

 Mr. Tandy is assisted by a thoroughly practical gardener, when 

 h(? is not at home bis garden is watched over tenderly by a 

 pair of black eyes that will not let much escape them. — 

 D., Deal. 



DAMSONS. 



Mk. Thos. Eiveks writes in your last number, page 3i9, 

 " This sort is the Prune Dimson, larger and superior in flavour 

 to all others." In Mr. Eivers's catalogue for 1870 he writes 

 thus under the head of Damsons: "Prune. — Oval, small; a 

 great bearer, and much esteemed in the north." " Cluster or 

 Crittenden. — Roundish oval ; a variety which has been recently 

 brought into notice for its goodness and extraordinary fertility ; 

 it forms a charming and fruitful pyramid." Mr. Eivers having 

 a most fertile pen, often, as I think, writes without stopping to 

 consider what he has written formerly. It is certainly rather 

 provoking, after one has bought a stock of the Crittenden 

 Damson, to flnd him writing up another which be bas himself 

 rather disparaged in some catalogue. I have found it the same 

 in his Pear list and subsequent writings. May I ask some 

 explanation through your pages ? — Inquikek. 



PIGMY ROSE TREES FOR TABLE DECORATION, 



Among the other subjects which we use at the present time 

 for table decoration, we find these very useful. From our flrst 

 batch of Tea varieties in March, and as soon as the flowers 

 were cut, we took eft' a lot of cuttings and put them in pots, 

 placing aboat a dozen round the side of a 3-inoh pot. Kept in 

 a genial bottom heat they quickly rooted, and as soon as they 

 began to push we potted tbem off in small pots. After they 

 were potted-ofi we kept tbem still in a gentle bottom beat, and 

 for the last three weeks we have been using nice little plants, 

 the same as one I forward. — Eobekt Mackellae, Elraston. 



[The specimen is very effective, about 9 inches high, has 

 a single stem with one flower on its summit, and is well- 

 famished with leaves to the base. — Eds.] 



Spaeeows ATTACKise WisTAEiA. — Your correspondent is not 

 singular in finding sparrows attacking his "Wistaria. About 

 three years ago I was rejoicing in the glorious promise of bloom 

 which my Wistaria was giving for the first time, and in the 

 pride of my heart I took a friend out to see what the tree would 

 be. Alas ! to my dismay, I found what bad two days before 

 been clusters almost ready to open were mere budless spikes. 

 The sparrows bad stripped off every flower, and left nothing 

 but the stalks to show what bad been. Since that time I have 



